The High Court has upheld a ruling which forbids women from Northern Ireland receiving free abortions in England.

Mr Justice King rejected a legal challenge to restrictions on women from Northern Ireland undergoing terminations on the NHS.

The case was brought by a teenager, referred to as "A", who was denied an abortion by medical authorities in Northern Ireland in October 2012. Laws on the procedure are extremely strict, with terminations only permitted when the life of the mother as at risk.

The girl, aged 15 at the time, then sought an abortion in England, where abortions are legal, but was denied NHS treatment. She was forced to pay £600 to have the operation done privately and a further £300 in travel costs.

The girl's mother, who helped her bring the case to court, said: "The whole experience and stress" of not knowing whether it was going to be possible for her daughter to have the procedure and raise the funds was "harrowing".

According to the latest Department of Health statistics over 1,000 women from Northern Ireland had abortions in England in 2011. Only five were provided on the NHS.

The girl's mother said she had sought legal advice in England, where she was told NHS services "are intended to be free at the point of use for all UK residents".

But the judge said she had misunderstood the legal position and services like abortion are not available on the NHS to people who are "not ordinarily - or usually - resident in England," unless it is an emergency.

He said the differences in the legal position in Northern Ireland had "not surprisingly led to a steady stream" of pregnant women travelling to England.

But the Government's duty to promote a comprehensive health service in England applies to "the physical and mental health of the people of England", and does not extend "to persons who are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland".

The ruling comes as a further blow to pro-abortion campaigners.

Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said the ruling was a signal that the time had come for the women of Northern Ireland to be entitled to get the care they needed "at home".

"Let this ruling serve as a reminder of the appalling fact that women from Northern Ireland are forced to travel to England every day to access a fundamental healthcare service that they should be able to obtain at home, or take their chances by illegally buying abortion medication online," she said.

"Outlawing abortion does not prevent women having abortions, it simply increases the physical, financial and emotional burden of obtaining the care they need."